Lincoln Board of Education Moves Forward with Steve Joel Decision

Back to GI Everyday
Updated: 7:22 AM Mar 10, 2010 Lincoln Board of Education Moves Forward with Steve Joel Decision Lincoln Like the board of any successful business Lincoln's Board of Education wants only the most qualified candidate to run its school district. Posted: 9:35 PM Mar 9, 2010 Reporter: Terra Hall Email Address: Terra.Hall@1011now.com

Font Size:

Like the board of any successful business Lincoln's Board of Education wants only the most qualified candidate to run its school district. That's why Dr. Steve Joel could make more than a quarter of a million dollars each year as Lincoln's next superintendent.

"$255 thousand dollars is a lot of money," said Board of Education President Don Mayhew. "But that is a reflection of the responsibilities of the job. The superintendent for Lincoln public schools is essentially the CEO of a $300 million entity that has 7,000 employees, serves 35,000 students and owns and maintains of 60 buildings."

Board members unanimously voted for Joel last Tuesday because of his qualifications and dedication, among other reasons.

"The average tenure of a superintendent in an urban school district is about three to four years," said Mayhew. "I think in Lincoln we've been very lucky. With Dr. Gorley, she will have been here for six years. Before her, Dr. Schoo was here for 19 years. In Lincoln, we've enjoyed a lot of stability in that position. I'm hopeful that Dr. Joel will also be here for many years."

"I don't think it was a sole factor but it was a nice factor to look at," said Ed Zimmer, a Board of Education member. "Joel has put in substantial periods of time in Beatrice for about 8 years in Grand Island for ten years. That continuity is valuable."

The contract for Joel was on the agenda for Tuesday's board meeting for first reading. Over the next few weeks, board members will get feedback from the public and vote on the contract at its March 23 meeting.

Latest Comments

Posted by: Anonymous on Mar 10, 2010 at 05:58 PM

Overpaid!

Posted by: jb Location: lincoln on Mar 10, 2010 at 01:10 PM

Rumor has it that Joel will be more of a stickler when it comes to the dress code of our schools. I would love to see LPS draft up some sort of dress code so that boys aren't wearing pants that are hanging down to their knees and showing their underwear, and the girls aren't wearing clothes that reveal too much of their bodies. Maybe he could also get rid of the pop machines in school or just replace the pop with healthy drink choices.

Click here to post or read all 2 comments.